Ulterior Motives
by LachlanB
Summary: Cerberus has been condemned, and with good reason. But what if they actually were acting the interest of humanity? Numerous RetConnings, Adaptations, and OCs.


The dying light of Anadius shone softly against the cool metal, its present radiance a mere shade of its former self. The solar rays glinted on polished chrome, a hazy reflection being cast in their wake. If not for the artificial illumination of Cronos Station, one would not have noticed the megastructure at all. The facility's many laboratories were whisper quiet, save for the soothing hum of the work stations. The upper levels of the complex were dedicated office spacing for Cerberus officials, but essentially all were vacant, due to the autonomy and localization of Cerberus Cells.

It had been only thirty years since humanity first discovered that it was not alone. But thirty years of aggressive technological and militaristic expansion dwarfed the previous century of social, economic and scientific discovery. The childhood of mankind had come to an end, and none were ready for what had lain ahead.

On the top level of the office complex, a pair of innocent-looking elevator doors slid open noiselessly, complimented by a soft 'ding'. A man strode deftly from the carriage, his leather boots making a uniform 'thud' on the rubberized floor. The man ran a hand over his shaven crown as he paced the familiar hallway, nervously trying to collect his thoughts. Operative Apollo Mason paused as he reached the door, breathing deeply before attempting to brave the steel Illusive Man was not known to be forgiving, and most who visited this room never lived to tell of it. Drawing himself to his full height, the thirty-six year old palmed the entry sequence and strode into the Illusive Man's Chamber.

To say the room was impressive would be an understatement. Running wall to wall was a single, massive viewing window, offering an unparalleled view of Anadius, the dying red star. Other than the single seat surrounded by an array of holo-screens in the centre of the expansive chamber, and the disc shaped communication pad on the floor, the room featured a darkly elegant simplicity. The Operative focused intently on the central console, his eyes attentively recognizing the man shaped silhouette seated in the chair. A pair of glowing blue eyes stared back at him.

_"Operative Mason,"_ The Illusive Man began, _"you know why you are here?"_

Mason swallowed, tugging unconsciously at his crisp Cerberus uniform. _"Yes,"_ he replied, _"to discuss the future of the Daedalus Project."_

The Daedalus Project had been a disaster so far.A scheme to create a ship-mounted command and control system that could oversee the movements of the entire galaxy. It was to be the Artificial Intelligence that would coordinate Humanity's response to the Reapers. Projects Overlord and Daedalus were working hand in hand, an unusual occurrence in Cerberus operations. Unfortunately, this made the two reliant on each other.

_"Five billion credits,"_ the Illusive Man stabbed_, "our most ambitious project since Lazarus, and now you mean to tell me that this cost will, in your parlance, 'explode'?"_

The Cerberus Operative shifted uneasily, his eyes darting around the room, searching for a place to hide from that piercing gaze. _"Well, strictly speaking, this has been foreseeable ever since Commander Shepard...disrupted...Project Overlord. We have had to revisit the Artificial Intelligence modalities entirely."_

_"The discussion of Projects Overlord and Lazarus are none of your concern, Operative," _The Illusive Man commanded._ "What progress do you have to report on the Dreadnought?"_

Operative Mason reached, tentatively, for the datapad at his belt, being careful to give his pistol a wide berth. He knew that any action perceived by the station's AI as an attempt on the Illusive Man's life would trigger a one hundred thousand volt electric shock that would disintegrate him before he had time to blink. He released the breath that he noticed he was holding and then began to read from the interface before him.

_"The element zero core salvaged from the Reaper destroyed by Commander Shepard has been successfully installed. With auxiliary reactors in place to handle non-essential systems, the effective power output of the main reactors is unrivaled by any known capital ship. In fact, it could probably power this entire station."_

_"Impressive"_ noted the Illusive Man, storing the thought for a later date. _"What of the weapon systems?"_

_"Our scientists,"_ continued Mason_, "along with certain others with ties to both the Alliance and Turian militaries have been collaborating on a revision of the Thanix weapon, the Turian's answer to the Reaper beam weapon. Complications arose previously where up scaling the weapon to anything larger than light cruisers became...difficult."_

The Illusive Man leaned forward attentively, brow raised. "Difficult?" he asked.

Anticipating the question, Mason tapped a button on the datapad, and a hologram began to play. The film showed an Alliance Heavy Cruiser, the SSV Canberra, undergoing live-fire exercises with the prototype Thanix weapon. The demonstration began with an explanation of the weapon's firing mechanics from several Alliance scientists, a handful of whom the Illusive Man recognized as part of his web of contacts inside Alliance Research. The cruiser came back into view. The twin barrels on the underside of the cruiser began to pulse blue as energy collected along the ship's lateral lines. But then something happened. The twin pulses of blue light erupted from the barrels and began corkscrewing wildly, before impacting the neighboring SSV Marston Moor, a frigate. The shot blasted clean through both hulls of the frigate, which began the drift unconsciously through space, its engines flickering out. The torpid composure of the scientists and military officials erupted into a frenetic panic before the scene faded out.

_"What went wrong?"_ inquired the Illusive Man, lighting himself a cigarette as he spoke.

_"The reactor systems of existing ship designs are intended to accommodate for largely self-propelled ordnance, missiles and the like. The immediate power draw of cruiser-scale Thanix weapons exceeds that of Dreadnought-scale Mass Accelerator weapons. The reactors just can't cope, so the weapon misfires."_

Pensive, the Illusive Man brought the cigarette to his lips_. "But with the enhanced eezo core..."_

_"We can accommodate for the increased draw. Preliminary tests indicate that sustained fire from the weapon is sufficient to knock out the Reaper's kinetic barriers, something that usually takes half a dozen dreadnoughts, or, in the case of the Citadel-"_

_"An entire fleet"_ the Illusive Man intercepted.

_"But,"_ the Operative insisted_, "without the Daedalus AI, it's just one ship. We cannot effectively coordinate fleet-wide firing solutions or response strategies using standard VIs, especially against an enemy as unfamiliar and unorthodox as The Reapers. Overlord is irreplaceable; however, I do believe there is an existing alternative."_

_"What did you have in mind?"_ retorted the Illusive Man retorted.

_"It's been right under our noses, actually. An AI based on Reaper technology, with the capability to adapt to resolve challenging situations. It's even been field tested against The Collectors, the closest thing to Reaper as The Reapers themselves. With a little modification, I believe that we will have our AI."_

The Illusive Man's usually taut lips grew into a grin. Crushing out the cigarette underfoot, the Cerberus director tapped a button on the chair's armrest. A hologram of the discussed AI flickered to life, detailing operational capacity and other details of the project. Along the bottom of the display ran a three letter acronym, all too familiar to both of the men present.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence - EDI


End file.
